LONGWOOD, Fla. — Tucked away in this corner of Seminole County is a private, independent-living senior community full of dozens of rabid UCF fans.

One of the residents of Village on the Green is Carolyn Towles. She was part of the first graduating class at Florida Tech in 1971. That school became UCF. 

There was no football team, let alone a football field, on campus when she attended, but today, with the school's recent success, she quickly has adapted to becoming a fan on game day.

Towles laughs as she describes how she watches games.

"Sitting in my big chair, with my feet up," she says. "I also have an adult beverage in my right hand."

There's Stan Goldstein, who's not a UCF alumnus but has become a passionate fan who bleeds black and gold.

"I think we will go there and show them how to be a losing team," Goldstein says. "It's going to be 'go UCF' all the way."

With the Knights set to take on the LSU Tigers in the Fiesta Bowl on New Year's Day, Towles, Goldstein and other residents of Village on the Green have made a friendly wager with rivals hundreds of miles away.

They've been in contact with residents of another independent living community in Baton Rouge.

St. James Place residents are extremely passionate about their Tigers.

Their wager: If UCF wins, St James Place will send enough Mardi Gras king cakes to feed the 350 Village on the Green residents. But if UCF loses to LSU, 350 of Florida's best oranges will head to the Bayou.

So on New Year's Day, the shuffleboard courts at Village on the Green will be empty, because the UCF fans there will have a better place to be: in front of the big screen, cheering on their Knights.

Kickoff for the Fiesta Bowl is set for 1 p.m. Tuesday.